From the Blog

Summer has been busy

It’s been a busy summer so far. We’re just into July and I’m wondering where the summer went already. To start off, the spring series of RC racing at 106 Race Park ended 2 weeks ago. I finished the season in the monster class in first place. Finally a first place finish for me. I’ll pot pics of the trophy as soon as I get it. This week is the beginning of our Friday night series, also at 106 Race Park. I’m excited because the night series brings with it the challenge of racing with less light. Unfortunately it looks like we might be missing our first race this week as it is supposed to rain Friday night. I’m also wondering what the night racing will bring for challenges in photography. We’ll have to see how it all turns out.

On that same subject, photography, I have been working very hard to widen my horizons in that area. If you’ve taken a look at my galleries, Corey T’s Gallery, you’d see a lot of new photos. A lot of which are from something other than RC races for a change. I started taking pictures of the Red Tail Hawks that live outside our office in Manchester. I got some great photos and put them in the gallery of course.

Over the weekend of course was the 4th of July. I was excited to make my first attempt at photographing fireworks. I picked up a cheap remote shutter release from Hunt’s Photo and Video in Manchester, NH. It did the job OK, but I need to bring it back because it is not doing what it should, and it did not come with the correct wire for my camera. This is not a reflection on the folks that work at Hunt’s. I think it was more me being in a rush and not doing enough research before buying the remote. Regardless of the issues with the remote, I still managed to get some absolutely fantastic photos. Like I said, I’ve never photographed fireworks before, but this first attempt is a great start. Jess and I went to the fireworks in Manchester, NH on Saturday the 3rd. After a great dinner at Portland Pie Co.in downtown (more on that later), we parked the car at the office, and walked to the granite st. bridge. We setup on the west end of the bridge close to the on ramp for rt. 293 north. After about an hour and a half of playing around with the remote and waiting, the show began. I took as many pics as I could, about 350 in all. I also shot 2 short videos just to try it out. Out of the photos I worked on and uploaded 130 in the end. I am very happy with the end result, and think there are some great photos, although I might be slightly biased.

On the 4th itself Jess and I watched the Concord fireworks from our apartment complex. We can see them pretty well, in fact we’re too close I think, from here. I setup the camera again, and took as many shots as I could. Unfortunately we were too close for the lenses I have, and a lot of shots were cut off. I am not as happy with the Concord shots vs. the Manchester ones. In Manchester I had a much better location with the river and reflections. Here in Concord we’ll need to find a better location for next year.

Now what is Portland Pie Co. I hear you ask. Well it’s the best pizza I have ever had, plain and simple. The Portland Pie Co.is from??? You guessed it, Portland. Maine though, not Oregon, or any other poser state trying to undermine Maine’s hold on the name. Anyways, this place is awesome. They opened in Manchester, on the corner of Elm St. and Merrimack St., back on June 9th. I went there with friends from work and instantly fell in love with the pizza. They offer 5 different crust flavors, and 16 pizzas!! They also have calzones, a build-your-own pizza option, as well as sandwiches, wraps, and quite a bit more.

The crust flavors I think really make them shine above other pizza companies. They have Basil, Beer, Garlic, Wheat and even Gluten-Free. In my three trips there I have only tried the Beer crust as it tastes so good. It’s a sweeter crust and fluffier than a traditional crust. It goes great with the Old Port (pepperoni). I have been there 3 times so far. I actually ate there Friday for lunch, and then again saturday with Jess for dinner. The pizza is just so good. I am not a big beer drinker, but they seem to have a lot of great offerings there too.

In addition to great pizza, they have some awesome desserts as well. My first trip there I had heard about a S’mores Dessert Pie. Knowing how much Jess loves S’mores I had to get one to bring home, so I did. It was fantastic. It really is a 10″ pizza made with a dessert crust, graham cracker, chocolate and marshmallow. On my second trip there I got Jess the Rachel’s Chocolate Lasgna. This is a large piece of chocolate cake with white marshmallow frosting in between the layers. Another great dessert.

If your in Manchester and need some great food, definitely try this place out. They even have a “Frequent Pie-er” card. My only regret is that I didn’t know about the card until my 3rd visit. I’d be much closer to earning some free food.

As for other things going on it seems like there are a lot of things. I’ve finally started getting serious about finishing my bachelor’s degree. I also started working on a new site idea. For now I am keeping it under wraps, but it should be up in the next few weeks. Once it’s up I’ll post here for everyone to see, and hopefully this will turn into a good site project.

I guess that’s it for now. As always, have fun and keep it between the ditches.